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Saturday, December 15, 2012

Hold Your Kids Close and Love Them Every Day: Not Just in the Eye of a Tragedy

Yesterday was a hard day for all of us in America, but not as hard of a day for the families who were directly affected by the shooting in Connecticut. As a Mother, there was sadness in my heart for the Mother's who lost their children and for all the children whose lives will never be the same because of the shooting.

I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed.

When I was on the computer in the later part of the morning I noticed a trend in the Facebook stream. Mothers were posting similar messages on their Facebook walls such as "hold your kids close today," "love your children like you never had before." There were parents pulling their kids out of school so they could be with them, and many thinking about homeschooling their children in the eye of this tragedy.

I was not thinking about holding my kids close throughout the day - that is something that I already do everyday. Yes, I gave my kids a great big hug when I met them at school and in that moment I thanked God for their safety and the blessing of having another day with them.

Instead, we went about our normal day of donating food at the Orange County Rescue Mission, had lunch with their daddy and played at the park. Personally, I felt that I should be out living life with my kids - like I do everyday - not sitting at home holding them on the couch with tears in my eyes.

There was a moment when I wondered if it was wrong for me to be out enjoying life with my children. Should I be home holding them? Was it selfish for us to be enjoying life, when others cannot?

No. We all handle tragedy differently. There is no right or wrong way of doing it.

We should love every second, every minute, every hour, every day and every year with our children. Make every moment count and be thankful for the blessings of having them in our lives - not just doing this on one day in the eye of a tragedy.

Live with them...laugh out-loud with them...have a silly string fight with them...and when you find yourself stepping back from those moments with your children. When the world goes silent and you capture that moment of true bliss with your children - say a prayer.

Yes, I told my children about the tragedy. Then we went together to church and lit a candle for the children and prayed together. My children have experienced loss in their lives, so it was not hard for them to understand what had happened. Instead of going into details about the shootings, I told them "today many children went to heaven before their time. It is a sad day for their families and their friends."